Method and apparatus for improving power management by controlling operations of an uninterruptible power supply in a data center

ABSTRACT

A system having multiple racks with a power supply unit (PSU) in each rack, and multiple grids including an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in each grid to supply power to each PSU. A console determines an amount of wear levelling and an amount of workload to be supported by each UPS. The console configures each UPS based upon the determined amount of wear levelling and the determined amount of workload to be supported by the UPS. Furthermore, the console facilitates an adjustment of a power capping value in each PSU to conform with the configuration of each UPS.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure generally relates to information handling systems, andmore particularly relates to improving power management by controllingoperations of an uninterruptible power supply in a data center.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option is an information handling system. An information handlingsystem generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicatesinformation or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Becausetechnology and information handling needs and requirements may varybetween different applications, information handling systems may alsovary regarding what information is handled, how the information ishandled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, andhow quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, orcommunicated. The variations in information handling systems allow forinformation handling systems to be general or configured for a specificuser or specific use such as financial transaction processing,reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. Inaddition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardwareand software resources that may be configured to process, store, andcommunicate information and may include one or more computer systems,data storage systems, and networking systems.

SUMMARY

A system having multiple racks with a power supply unit (PSU) in eachrack, and multiple grids including an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)in each grid to supply power to each PSU. A console may determine anamount of wear levelling and an amount of workload to be supported byeach UPS, and the console may configure each UPS based upon thedetermined amount of wear levelling and the determined amount ofworkload to be supported. The console facilitates an adjustment of apower capping value in each PSU to conform with the configuration of theUPS.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an information handling systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a portion of the information handlingsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a UPS setup in a data center according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4-6 are flow charts showing a method of managing a UPS operationin the data center to even wear levelling in each UPS according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a graph of an applied workload and corresponding UPSefficiency according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a look-up table showing grid configurations in a power networkaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following description in combination with the Figures is provided toassist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The followingdiscussion will focus on specific implementations and embodiments of theteachings. This focus is provided to assist in describing the teachings,and should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope orapplicability of the teachings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an information handling system 100including a processor 102, processor interface 106, chipset 110, memory120, graphics adapter 130 connected to video display 134, non-volatileRAM (NV-RAM) 140 that includes a basic input and outputsystem/extensible firmware interface (BIOS/EFI) module 142, diskcontroller 150, hard disk drive (HDD) 154, optical disk drive (ODD) 156,disk emulator 160 connected to solid state drive (SSD) 164, aninput/output (I/O) interface 170 connected to an add-on resource 174, atrusted platform module (TPM) 176, a network interface 180, a baseboardmanagement controller (BMC) 190, and power supply units (PSUs) 195 witha plug chord 198. The information handling system 100 can be a personalcomputer, a laptop computer, a smart phone, a tablet device or otherconsumer electronic device, a network server, a network storage device,a switch router or other network communication device, or any othersuitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality,and price. The elements depicted in information handling system 100 maynot be representative of all elements of information handling systems ingeneral. Moreover some elements as depicted in information handlingsystem 100 may not be applicable to all information handling systems asdescribed in the present embodiments.

Chipset 110 represents an integrated circuit or group of integratedcircuits that manages data flow between the processor 102 and the otherelements of information handling system 100. In a particular embodiment,chipset 110 represents a pair of integrated circuits, such as a northbridge component and a south bridge component. In another embodiment,some or all of the functions and features of chipset 110 are integratedwith one or more of processors 102. Memory 120 is connected to chipset110 via a memory interface 122. An example of memory interface 122includes a Double Data Rate (DDR) memory channel, and memory 120represents one or more DDR Dual In-Line Memory Modules (DIMMs). In aparticular embodiment, memory interface 122 represents two or more DDRchannels. In another embodiment, one or more of processors 102 includememory interface 122 that provides a dedicated memory for theprocessors. A DDR channel and the connected DDR DIMMs can be inaccordance with a particular DDR standard, such as a DDR3 standard, aDDR4 standard, a DDR5 standard, or the like. Memory 120 may furtherrepresent various combinations of memory types, such as Dynamic RandomAccess Memory (DRAM) DIMMs, Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) DIMMs,non-volatile DIMMs (NV-DIMMs), storage class memory devices, Read-OnlyMemory (ROM) devices, or the like.

Graphics adapter 130 is connected to chipset 110 via a graphicsinterface 132, and provides a video display output 136 to a videodisplay 134. An example of a graphics interface 132 includes aperipheral component interconnect-express interface (PCIe) and graphicsadapter 130 can include a four lane (×4) PCIe adapter, an eight lane(×8) PCIe adapter, a 16-lane (×16) PCIe adapter, or anotherconfiguration, as needed or desired. In a particular embodiment,graphics adapter 130 is provided on a system printed circuit board(PCB). Video display output 136 can include a digital video interface(DVI), a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), DisplayPortinterface, or the like. Video display 134 can include a monitor, a smarttelevision, an embedded display such as a laptop computer display, orthe like.

NV-RAM 140, disk controller 150, and I/O interface 170 are connected tochipset 110 via I/O channel 112. An example of I/O channel 112 includesone or more point-to-point PCIe links between chipset 110 and each ofNV-RAM 140, disk controller 150, and I/O interface 170. Chipset 110 canalso include one or more other I/O interfaces, including an IndustryStandard Architecture (ISA) interface, a Small Computer Serial Interface(SCSI) interface, an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I²C) interface, a SystemPacket Interface (SPI), a Universal Serial Bus (USB), another interface,or a combination thereof. NV-RAM 140 includes BIOS/EFI module 142 thatstores machine-executable code (BIOS/EFI code) that operates to detectthe resources of information handling system 100, to provide drivers forthe resources, to initialize the resources, and to provide common accessmechanisms for the resources. The functions and features of BIOS/EFImodule 142 will be further described below.

Disk controller 150 includes a disk interface 152 that connects the diskcontroller to HDD 154, to ODD 156, and to disk emulator 160. Diskinterface 152 may include an integrated drive electronics (IDE)interface, an advanced technology attachment (ATA) such as a parallelATA (PATA) interface or a serial ATA (SATA) interface, a SCSI interface,a USB interface, a proprietary interface, or a combination thereof. Diskemulator 160 permits a solid-state drive (SSD) 164 to be connected toinformation handling system 100 via an external interface 162. Anexample of external interface 162 includes a USB interface, an IEEE 1394(Firewire) interface, a proprietary interface, or a combination thereof.Alternatively, SSD 164 can be disposed within information handlingsystem 100.

I/O interface 170 includes a peripheral interface 172 that connects I/Ointerface 170 to add-on resource 174, to TPM 176, and to networkinterface 180. Peripheral interface 172 can be the same type ofinterface as I/O channel 112, or can be a different type of interface.As such, I/O interface 170 extends the capacity of I/O channel 112 whenperipheral interface 172 and the I/O channel are of the same type, andthe I/O interface translates information from a format suitable to theI/O channel to a format suitable to the peripheral channel 172 when theyare of a different type. Add-on resource 174 can include a data storagesystem, an additional graphics interface, a NIC, a sound/videoprocessing card, another add-on resource, or a combination thereof.Add-on resource 174 can be on a main circuit board, a separate circuitboard or an add-in card disposed within information handling system 100,a device that is external to the information handling system, or acombination thereof.

Network interface device 180 represents a network communication devicedisposed within information handling system 100, on a main circuit boardof the information handling system, integrated onto another element suchas chipset 110, in another suitable location, or a combination thereof.Network interface device 180 includes a network channel 182 thatprovides an interface to devices that are external to informationhandling system 100. In a particular embodiment, network channel 182 isof a different type than peripheral channel 172 and network interface180 translates information from a format suitable to the peripheralchannel to a format suitable to external devices. In a particularembodiment, network interface device 180 includes a NIC or host busadapter (HBA), and an example of network channel 182 includes anInfiniBand channel, a fiber channel, a gigabit Ethernet channel, aproprietary channel architecture, or a combination thereof. Networkchannel 182 can be connected to an external network resource (notillustrated). The network resource can include another informationhandling system, a data storage system, another network, a gridmanagement system, another suitable resource, or a combination thereof.

BMC 190 is connected to multiple elements of information handling system100 via one or more management interface 192 to provide out of bandmonitoring, maintenance, and control of the elements of the informationhandling system. As such, BMC 190 represents a processing devicedifferent from the processor 102, which provides various managementfunctions for information handling system 100. In an embodiment, BMC 190may be responsible for granting access to an external device such as acentral management unit that may establish control of the elements toimplement power management, cooling management, storage management, andthe like. In this embodiment, the central management unit includes aconsole. The BMC 190 may communicate with the console using a networkinterface 194.

In an embodiment, the BMC 190 implements an integrated remote accesscontroller (iDRAC) that operates to monitor and maintain systemfirmware, such as code stored in BIOS/EFI module 142, option ROMs forgraphics interface 130, disk controller 150, add-on resource 174,network interface 180, or other elements of information handling system100, as needed or desired. In particular, BMC 190 includes the networkinterface 194 that can be connected to a remote management system toreceive firmware updates, as needed or desired. Here, BMC 190 receivesthe firmware updates, stores the updates to a data storage deviceassociated with the BMC, transfers the firmware updates to NV-RAM of thedevice or system that is the subject of the firmware update, therebyreplacing the currently operating firmware associated with the device orsystem, and reboots information handling system, whereupon the device orsystem utilizes the updated firmware image.

PSUs 195 may include one or more power supplies to support powerrequirements of the information handling system. Each one of the PSUs195 may include hardware circuitry that can provide a source ofelectrical energy. The hardware circuitry can supply the electricalenergy to support, for example, a system workload in the informationhandling system. In this example, the supporting of the system workloadincludes providing of the biasing voltages to the processor 102,graphics interface 130, universal serial bus drive, display screen, andother information handling system component that may require electricalenergy for its operation. In a data center where the informationhandling system 100 serves as one of rack servers, the PSUs 195 may beconnected to one or more UPS of a power network. The UPS includes adevice that facilitates a transfer of power from utility or generatorpower sources to the PSUs 195. In various embodiments, the centralmanagement unit may implement power management of the PSUs 195 based onconfigurations of the one or more UPS of the power network. The centralmanagement unit may control operations of the one or more UPS of thepower network to minimize costs in the data center.

FIG. 2 shows a portion 200 of the information handling system. Theportion 200 includes the power supply 195 including a first PSU 210 anda second PSU 220, the processor 102 with a workload 230, and the BMC190. The first PSU 210 includes a first PSU sensor 212, a firstmicrocontroller unit (MCU) 214, and a first power train circuit 216. Thesecond PSU 220 includes a second PSU sensor 222, a second MCU 224, and asecond power train circuit 226. The BMC 190 can be connected to thefirst MCU 214, the second MCU 224, and the processor 102. The BMC 190can be connected to a central management unit 250 such as a data centerconsole that may establish control of the PSUs 195 to implement powermanagement.

In various embodiments, the first PSU 210 and the second PSU 220 maysupply required power to support the workload 230 and other informationhandling system components requiring power for operation. The first PSU210 may be configured as a primary source of power while the second PSU220 may be configured as a back-up PSU when the first PSU 210 is offlineor malfunctioning. In other cases, the first PSU 210 and the second PSU220 may be configured to alternately supply power, or to supply power atdifferent time periods depending upon the amount of the workload 230 andinstructions from the BMC 190. In various embodiments, the instructionsfrom the BMC 190 may implement the power management that can beinitiated by the central management unit 250.

The instructions from the BMC 190 may include reconfigurations of thefirst PSU 210 and/or the second PSU 220 to conform to the configurationsof the UPS in the data center. In various embodiments, the centralmanagement unit 250 controls the operation of the UPS to provideelectrical energy to the first PSU 210 and/or the second PSU 220 andthus, resulting to PSU reconfigurations. The control of the UPSoperations may be based upon factors that can increase UPS efficiencyand distribute wear levelling across all UPS in the data center. Forexample, the UPS is configured to supply 10 kW of electrical energy tothe PSUs 195. In this example, the 10 kW configuration of the UPS may beimplemented to increase UPS efficiency and to distribute the wearlevelling. In a case where the PSUs 195 are operating at 20 kW and theUPS is configured to supply 10 kW of electrical energy, the PSUs may bereconfigured to correspond to the 10 kW configuration of the UPS. Forexample, the reconfigurations of the PSUs 195 may include an applicationof a power capping value in order to limit the maximum amount of powerthat can be drawn from the PSUs. In this example, the PSUs 195 may bereconfigured to include the power capping value of 10 kW or less inorder to conform to the configurations of the UPS.

The BMC 190 may receive the power capping value and other instructionsfrom the central management unit 250, and the BMC may forward the powercapping value and other instructions to the first MCU 214. In turn, thefirst MCU 214 facilitates the reconfiguration of the first PSU 210and/or the second PSU 220 based upon the received power capping valueand instructions from the BMC. The power capping value may include anamount of power that may be derived, for example, from simultaneouspeaks of multiple servers in the same rack. In this example, the powercapping value may be lesser than the nominal power rating of the rackand thus, conserving power in the servers. The conserving of powerreduces operational cost in the data center.

The first MCU 214 includes hardware circuitry that can perform tasksrelated to power management of the first PSU 210. For example, the firstMCU 214 may receive command signals from the BMC 190 to calibrate thepower capping value that may be supported by the first PSU 210. In thisexample, the first MCU 214 may change the previous amount of powercapping value to limit the power that can be drawn from the first PSU210. In another example, the first MCU 214 may receive command signalsfrom the BMC 190 to turn OFF the first PSU 210 or to place the first PSUin standby mode. In this other example, the first MCU 214 reconfiguresthe first PSU 210 and sends this information to the BMC 190. The BMC 190communicates the updated first PSU configuration to the centralmanagement unit 250.

In various embodiments, the workload 230 may represent an amount ofcomputational work or tasks that the processor performs. In multi-coreprocessors, the workload 230 may include usage rates during non-idleperiods on each core. The usage rates can be based from an amount oftime that the core is used to process instructions as opposed to elapsedtime when the core is in idle mode. In other cases, the workload 230 mayrepresent the power consumption by information handling systemcomponents such as video display, sound device, and the like. In anembodiment, the processor 102 may send the amount of workload to the BMC190, and the BMC updates the central management unit 250.

The first power train circuit 216 includes hardware circuitry to convertthe received electrical energy into electrical energy source that isusable by the processor 102 and other components of the informationhandling system. For example, the first power train circuit 216 converts120 VAC or 240 VAC electrical energy into 5-12 VDC source. In thisexample, the first power train circuit 216 may include alternatingcurrent to direct current (AC/DC) rectifier, booster, or othertopologies and/or a filter circuit.

The first PSU sensor 212 includes hardware circuitry that is configuredto monitor temperature of the first power train circuit 216, and monitorthe electrical voltage or current at the first PSU 210. The first PSUsensor may send the monitored electrical voltage or current to the firstMCU 214, and the first MCU communicates the monitored information to theBMC 190.

The operation of the second PSU 220 is similar to the first PSU 210. Invarious embodiments, the present configurations of the second PSU 220are transmitted to the central management unit 250 through the BMC 190.At a configured time interval, the BMC 190 may receive the instructionsfrom the central management unit 250 to reconfigure the second PSU 220.In other cases, the instructions may include reconfiguring of the secondPSU 220 as a backup PSU.

FIG. 3 shows a UPS arrangement 300 in the data center. The UPSarrangement 300 includes a first grid 310 including a first UPS 312 anda second UPS 314, a second grid 320 including a third UPS 322 and afourth UPS 324, a console 330, a first PDU 342, a second PDU 344, athird PDU 346, a fourth PDU 348, a first rack 350, and a second rack360. The console 330 is similar to the central management unit 250 andthe console may include a console controller 332 and console datastorage 334. The first rack 350 includes a first server 352 and a secondserver 352. The second rack 360 includes a third server 362, a fourthserver 364, and a fifth server 366. The first PDU 342 and the second PDU344 are connected to the first rack 350 through a first connection 372and a second connection 374, respectively. The third PDU 346 and thefourth PDU 348 are connected to the second rack 360 through a thirdconnection 376 and a fourth connection 378, respectively. The first grid310 and the second grid 320 are connected to a power source 380 that mayinclude a power utility source or a power generator source.

As an operation overview of the UPS arrangement 300, the PSUs in thefirst rack 350 and the second rack 360 may draw power from at least oneUPS in the first grid 310 and/or the second grid 320. In a case where asingle grid is sufficient to support the amount of workload in the firstrack 350 and the second rack 360, one or more UPS in the single grid maybe used. In various embodiments, the console 330 may be configured toselect the one or more UPS in the single grid based upon UPS parametersand the PSU configurations that are stored in the console storage 334.For example, either the first UPS 312 or the second UPS 314 is requiredfrom the first grid 310 to supply power to the PSUs. In this example,the console may select the first UPS 312 or the second UPS 314 basedupon their corresponding UPS parameters and the PSUs configurations. TheUPS parameters may include amount of wear levelling of the UPS andassociated historical data. The historical data may include previousdemands on each UPS in previous time periods, the amount of workloadsthat the corresponding UPS supported during the previous time periods,the amount of power capping used in different time periods, performancestatistics of the associated grid, and the like. The PSU configurationscan include updated configurations that the console data storage 334receives from the BMCs. With the selection by the console 330 of the UPSto be utilized, reconfigurations of the PSUs may be implemented toconform to the configurations of the selected UPS. Only two grids with atotal of four UPS are shown for simplicity and the data center mayinclude additional grids including multiple UPS on each grid.

The first grid 310 and the second grid 320 may be configured to satisfyN+1 redundancy requirements when either grid can support the powerrequirements of the PSUs in the first rack 350 and the second rack 360at a particular time period. For example, the activated PSUs in thefirst rack 350 and the second rack 360 support a steady-state powerrequirement of 10 kW. In this example, each of the first grid 310 andthe second grid 320 may be configured to support at least 10 kW ofsteady-state power requirements to satisfy the N+1 redundancyrequirements. In another example, the power requirements of the firstrack 350 and the second rack 360 are capped to include a maximum valueof 8 kW. In this other example, each of the first grid 310 and thesecond grid 320 may be configured to support at least 8 kW of power tosatisfy the N+1 redundancy requirements. The power capping of the firstrack 350 and the second rack 360 may be based upon the configurations ofthe selected UPS to be utilized by the console 330.

The console 330 includes hardware circuitry that controls the use ofeach UPS in the first grid 310 and the second grid 320. The consolecontroller 332 can be configured to use the first UPS 312, second UPS314, third UPS 322, fourth UPS 324, or a combination thereof, based uponwear levelling of each UPS and/or based upon the amount of workload tobe supported in the first rack 350 and/or the second rack 360. Invarious embodiments, the console controller 332 selects the UPS with theleast amount of wear levelling and/or the UPS that supports the workloadthat requires at least sixty percent of UPS' capacity. For example, thefirst grid 310 is selected as a primary source of electrical energy tosupport the PSUs of the first rack 350. In this example and in order tomaximize UPS efficiency, the console controller 332 may utilize thefirst UPS 312 when the amount of workload to support in the first rack350 requires at least sixty percent of the first UPS capacity. Insteadof distributing the amount of workload between the first UPS 312 and thesecond UPS 314, the console controller 332 may use the first UPS 312only to obtain maximum efficiency. In various embodiments, the consolecontroller 332 may also determine the wear levelling of the first UPS312 as compared to the second UPS 314. In a case where the first UPS 312includes higher amount of wear levelling, the console controller 332 mayutilize the second UPS 314 instead of the first UPS 312. In this manner,the console 330 facilitates increase in the UPS efficiency anddistribution of wear levelling across the UPS.

The console data storage 334 may include hardware circuitry that storesthe UPS parameters and the PSU configurations. The console data storage334 may be configured to update the UPS parameters and the PSUconfigurations at a particular time interval. The UPS parameters may beupdated by recording previous UPS configurations that were implementedby the console 330. The PSU configurations may be updated by receivinginformation from the BMCs of corresponding rack servers. During a UPSoptimization operation, the console controller 332 may read the UPSparameters and the PSU configurations from the console data storage 334.Based upon the read UPS parameters and PSU configurations, the consolecontroller 332 may select the one or more UPS to be used in the datacenter. The UPS optimization operation includes selecting of UPS to beused, configuring of the selected UPS, and reconfiguring of the PSUs tocorrespond to the configuration of the selected UPS.

In various embodiments, the console controller 332 may use the storedUPS parameters to adjust in advance future configurations of the firstUPS 312, second UPS 314, third UPS 322, fourth UPS 324, or a combinationthereof. For example, the console controller 332 may predict what willbe the demand on each UPS during a particular time of the day. In thisexample, the console controller 332 may also predict the UPS wearlevelling that is associated to the predicted demand. Predicting thedemand and the associated wear leveling in advance may allow the consolecontroller 332 to share future load reconfigurations across the UPS toobtain maximum efficiency and even wear levelling.

The first UPS 312 may include hardware circuitry that sustains thesupply of electrical energy to the first rack 350 and the second rack360. The first UPS 312 may allow the power source 380 to directly supplythe electrical energy to the first PDU 342 and the second PDU 346. Whenthe power source 380 fails, the first UPS 312 may use a battery tocontinue the supply of electrical energy until the power is restored.Since the efficiency of the first UPS 312 varies with respect toworkload factor, the first UPS may be configured to support the workloadthat requires at least 60% of the first UPS' capacity. In variousembodiments, the second UPS 314 in the first grid 310 may be utilized asa back-up UPS except when the wear level of the first UPS 312 is greaterthan the second UPS. The second UPS 314, third UPS 322, and the fourthUPS 324 include similar functions and parameters as the first UPS 312.

The first rack 350 may include multiple servers and a top-of-rack switchthat facilitates electrical connections of the multiple servers to thefirst grid 310 and/or the second grid 320. The first rack 350 may be oneof the tens or hundreds of racks in the data center to perform variousoperations. The first rack 350 may support a rack workload (Rworkload)that includes a sum of workloads in the first server 352 and the secondserver 354. In various embodiments, the console controller 332 may beconfigured to use a workload threshold (Rthreshold) for each rack todetermine whether the UPS optimization operation is to be performed onthe corresponding rack. When the Rworkload is lesser than theRthreshold, the UPS optimization operation may be applied to control theuse of each UPS based upon the amount of the Rworkload that the racksupports, based upon wear levelling of each UPS to be used, thehistorical data associated to each UPS, or a combination thereof. TheRthreshold for each rack may be derived after a determination by theconsole 330 of total workloads across all racks in the data center. Forexample, the value of the Rthreshold for each rack may facilitatesatisfaction of the N+1 redundancy requirements, provides even wearlevelling of the UPS to be used, and/or maximizes distributionefficiency of the workloads across the UPS in the other grids.

The first server 352 is similar to the information handling system 100.In various embodiments, the BMC of the first server 352 may beconfigured to update the console 330 of the PSU configurations at aconfigured regular time interval. The PSU configurations may include PSUactive status, PSU stand-by status, PSU power capping value, predictedoperations of the PSU, and the like. In response to sending of the PSUconfigurations to the console 330, the BMC may receive instructions toperform PSU reconfigurations such as the application of power cappingvalues, placing one or more PSUs at standby mode, and the like.

FIGS. 4-6 show a method 400 for managing UPS operations in the powernetwork. The power network includes a system that utilizes grids,multiple UPS, racks, servers, and the like. The method 400 may increaseUPS efficiency and facilitates even wear levelling of the UPS, startingat block 402. At block 404, the console determines the Rworkload and theRthreshold of the rack. At a preconfigured time interval, the console330 may implement the UPS optimization operation on each one of theracks in the data center. In other cases, the UPS optimizationoperations may be implemented on a portion of the total number of racksin the data center. In various embodiments, the console 330 may receivefrom the end-user a value of the Rthreshold, or the Rthreshold may beread from a look-up table in the console data storage 334. The look-uptable may include preconfigured values of the Rthreshold for each rackin the data center. The console 330 may also receive the amount of theRworkload from the BMCs of the first rack 350, which is the first rackunder consideration.

At block 406, the console compares the determined Rthreshold to theRworkload. In response to the Rworkload that is less than theRthreshold, the console 330 determines whether the rack PSUs have beenoptimized at block 408. In a case where the Rworkload is greater thanthe Rthreshold, the UPS optimization operation may not be applied andthe process continues at blocks 500-506 where the PSUs are reconfiguredto enable redundancy.

In response to the determination that the rack PSUs has been optimized,and at block 410, the console 330 determines the actual workload (ServQ)and the configured workload (ConstServQ) of each server in the rack. Forexample, the console 330 determines the actual workload and theconfigured workload of the first server 352. In this example, the actualworkload includes the workload at a particular time period, while theconfigured workload may include an updated value of the power cappingfrom the previous UPS optimization operation. At block 412, the console330 compares the actual workload with the configured workload of theserver under consideration. In response to the actual workload that isgreater than the configured workload, and at block 414, the console 330facilitates the calibration of the configured power cap value of theserver. For example, the actual workload requires 10 kW of power and thepresent power cap value of the rack PSUs includes 5 kW. In this example,the console 330 may facilitate calibration of the power cap values toabout 10 kW. In response to the actual workload that is lesser than theconfigured workload, the UPS optimization operation continues at block416.

At block 416, the console 330 determines whether the server at block 414or block 412 includes the last server in the rack under consideration.In a case where the recently processed server is not the last server inthe rack under consideration, the console 330 selects the next serverand the selected server is processed at block 410. However and when therecently processed server includes the last server in the rack underconsideration, the operation continues at block 418 where the console330 re-aggregates the power consumption of the rack under considerationon account of the performed calibration. The re-aggregated powerconsumption may include new PSU configurations that are communicated bythe BMC to the console 330. The new PSU configurations may be stored inthe console data storage 334. At block 420, the console 330 determineswhether the rack under consideration is the last rack to be optimized.In response to being the last rack to be optimized, and at block 422,the UPS optimization operation ends. Otherwise, the console 330 selectsthe next rack and the selected rack is processed at block 404.

Returning to block 408 and where the rack PSUs are determined to havenot been optimized, then at block 424, the console 330 performs powercapping of the servers. For example, the rack under considerationincludes the first server 352 and the second server 354. In thisexample, the power capping of the rack PSUs may limit power consumptionin the first server 352 and the second server 354 of the rack underconsideration. With the power capping of the PSUs, the console 330 mayperform UPS load optimization action by reconfiguring the rack PSUsbased upon UPS wear leveling information. For example, and at block 600,the console 330 maintains the look-up table that can be used to extractthe wear levelling information of the UPS. In this example, the wearlevelling information may be based on uptime, aging, battery health, andthe like. At block 602, the console 330 utilizes the look-up table tobalance the active time and usage of the UPS to be utilized. As aconsequence, and at block 604, the console 330 identifies the UPS of thepresent grid that will be placed in idle mode. At block 606, the console330 determines whether the present configuration of the UPS has beenapplied to the configurations of the PSUs. In response to the PSUs thatwere not adjusted according to the present UPS configuration, and atblock 608, the console 330 facilitates reconfiguration of the PSUs.Otherwise, and at block 610, the console 330 may continue to monitor therack under consideration, or the console 330 may end operation and thenext rack may be selected at block 420.

Returning to block 406 and in response to the Rworkload that isdetermined to be higher than the Rthreshold, the console 330 determineswhether the rack power under consideration has been optimized at block500. In a case where the power in the rack PSUs has been optimized, theconsole 330 facilitates removal of the power capping in the PSUs of theservers that are associated to the rack under consideration. Forexample, the newly received Rthreshold from the end-user includes avalue that is lower than the present Rworkload of the rack underconsideration. In this example, the console 330 sends command signals tothe respective BMCs to remove the power capping on the PSUs that areassociated to the servers. At block 504, the console 330 may facilitatereversion of the previous PSU configurations to enable redundancy. Forexample, the previous PSU configurations may include lower values. Inthis example, console 330 reconfigures the lower values to enableredundancy. At block 506, the console 330 continues to monitor the rackunder consideration or to stop the optimization operation and the nextrack may be selected at block 420.

FIG. 7 is a graph 700 showing UPS efficiency at different appliedworkloads. In the data center, the UPS supports different amount ofworkloads during different time periods. In various embodiments, theconsole 330 may be configured to apply a workload 750 to a particularUPS when the workload requires an equivalent of at least sixty percentcapacity of the UPS for support.

FIG. 8 shows a look-up table 800 of the UPS configurations in the powernetwork. The look-up table 800 satisfies N+1 redundancy requirementswhere one grid such as the first grid 310 may be configured as an activegrid while the second grid 320 is present for redundancy. In variousembodiments, the UPS optimization operation may be implemented when theRworkload is lesser than the Rthreshold as shown by a portion 850 of thelook-up table 800.

Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detailherein, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that manymodifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments withoutmaterially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of theembodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all suchmodifications are intended to be included within the scope of theembodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the followingclaims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to coverthe structures described herein as performing the recited function andnot only structural equivalents.

Devices, modules, resources, or programs that are in communication withone another need not be in continuous communication with each other,unless expressly specified otherwise. In addition, devices, modules,resources, or programs that are in communication with one another cancommunicate directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries.

For purposes of this disclosure, the information handling system caninclude any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operableto compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, orutilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business,scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes. For example, theinformation handling system can be a personal computer, a laptopcomputer, a smart phone, a tablet device or other consumer electronicdevice, a network server, a network storage device, a switch router orother network communication device, or any other suitable device and mayvary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. Furthermore,the information handling system can include processing resources forexecuting machine-executable code, such as a central processing unit(CPU), a programmable logic array (PLA), an embedded device such as aSystem-on-a-Chip (SoC), or other control logic hardware. Informationhandling system can also include one or more computer-readable mediumfor storing machine-executable code, such as software or data.Additional components of information handling system can include one ormore storage devices that can store machine-executable code, one or morecommunications ports for communicating with external devices, andvarious I/O devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display.Information handling system can also include one or more buses operableto transmit information between the various hardware components.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover any andall such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments that fallwithin the scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximum extentallowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to be determinedby the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims andtheir equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by theforegoing detailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system having improved power management,comprising: a plurality of grids including at least one uninterruptiblepower supply (UPS) in each grid to supply power to at least one powersupply unit (PSU) in each one of a plurality of racks; and a consolecoupled to the grids and to the racks, wherein the console is configuredto determine an amount of wear levelling and an amount of workload to besupported by each UPS, wherein the console configures each UPS basedupon the determined amount of wear levelling and the determined amountof workload to be supported, and wherein a power capping value in eachPSU is adjusted to conform with the configuration of the UPS.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the power capping value to be adjustedincludes the power capping value in a previous UPS optimizationoperation.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the UPS optimizationoperation includes selecting of the UPS to be used, configuring of theselected UPS, and reconfiguring of the PSU to correspond with theconfiguration of the selected UPS.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein theconsole determines a rack threshold based upon a total workload of theracks, wherein the console performs the UPS optimization operation inresponse to the rack threshold that is greater than the workload in therack.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the console configures the UPSby assigning the workload that is equivalent to at least sixty percentcapacity of the UPS.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the consolecontrols an operation of the UPS by activating the UPS that includes aleast amount of wear levelling.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein eachrack includes a server with a baseboard management controller that isconfigured to supply server information to the console.
 8. The system ofclaim 7, wherein the server information includes the workload and PSUconfigurations of the server.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein theconsole further includes a data storage that stores updated amount ofwear levelling in each UPS.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein theconsole utilizes the data storage to predict demand and associated wearlevelling in each UPS.
 11. An information handling system, comprising: adata storage that stores an amount of wear levelling and an amount ofworkload to be supported by an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) ofeach one of a plurality of grids, wherein the data storage stores apower capping value of a power supply unit (PSU) of each one of aplurality of racks, wherein the UPS of each grid is configured to supplypower to each PSU; and a console controller that configures each UPSbased upon the determined amount of wear levelling and the determinedamount of workload to be supported by the UPS, wherein the power cappingvalue of each PSU is adjusted to conform with the configuration of theUPS.
 12. The information handling system of claim 1 Error! Referencesource not found., wherein the stored power capping value to be adjustedincludes the power capping value in a previous UPS optimizationoperation.
 13. The information handling system of claim 12, wherein theUPS optimization operation includes selecting of the UPS to be used,configuring of the selected UPS, and reconfiguring of the PSU tocorrespond with the configuration of the selected UPS.
 14. Theinformation handling system of claim 12, wherein the console controllerdetermines a rack threshold based upon a total workload of the racks,wherein the console performs the UPS optimization operation in responseto the rack threshold that is greater than the workload in the rack. 15.The information handling system of claim 11, wherein the consolecontroller configures each UPS by assigning the workload that isequivalent to at least sixty percent capacity of the UPS.
 16. Theinformation handling system of claim 11, wherein the console controllercontrols an operation of the UPS by activating the UPS that includes aleast amount of wear levelling.
 17. The information handling system ofclaim 11, wherein each rack includes a server with a baseboardmanagement controller that is configured to supply server information tothe console.
 18. The information handling system of claim 17, whereinthe server information includes the workload and PSU configurations ofthe server.
 19. A method, comprising: determining, by console hardwarecircuitry, an amount of wear levelling and an amount of workload to besupported by an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) of each one of aplurality of grids, wherein the UPS of each grid is configured to supplypower to a power supply unit (PSU) of each one of a plurality of racks;and configuring each UPS based upon the determined amount of wearlevelling and the determined amount of workload to be supported by theUPS, wherein a power capping value in each PSU is adjusted to conformwith the configuration of the UPS.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinthe power capping value to be adjusted includes the power capping valuein a previous UPS optimization operation.